Face to Face with Fluffy
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Harry needs to find the perfect gift for Lily's birthday. House: Hufflepuff Year: 4 Category: Standard Prompt: [Animal] Spider(s) Word Count: 1203 Warnings: Arachnophobia and minor PTSD/anxiety [Note: I have not read Cursed Child] Beta: Aya In honor of George, Kuro's bathroom spider.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

House: Hufflepuff

Year: 4

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Animal] Spider(s)

Word Count: 1203

Warnings: Arachnophobia and minor PTSD/anxiety

[Note: I have not read Cursed Child]

Beta: Aya

In honor of George, Kuro's bathroom spider.

_**Face to Face with Fluffy**_

Harry was never scared of spiders; the cupboard under the stairs used to be full of them. However, it needed to be said that this was before Aragog and his children tried to eat him and Ron during their second year at Hogwarts. That tends to changes one's perspective about these things, and remains with a person well until adulthood.

Harry was walking in Diagon Alley with his son, Albus, looking for a gift for his youngest, Lily Luna. "Dad! Dad! Let's go check out the pet shop. I've been saving up for a ferret," Albus said.

Harry let his son drag him by the hand into the pet shop. Albus let go of his father's hand and wandered over to the ferrets. Harry thought back to the time Malfoy was transfigured into an albino ferret during the period when the fake Moody was teaching them. The idea that his son was getting a ferret was ironic. He chuckled to himself; perhaps he should suggest the name Draco for the ferret?

He walked around the shop, jumping when he saw the spiders. Enclosures were filled with small ones, big ones, and an enclosure which held a tarantula. The beady eyes seemed to focus on him, and he felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of the hairy spider.

"Dad, Lily would love that big spider over there!" Albus exclaimed, pointing at the tarantula when he met up with his father again. "I need to come back again next week; the shop assistant says they're getting albino ferrets next week."

Harry couldn't mask his face at the irony; _albino ferret_, really?

"You think my daughter would want _that_?" Harry said surprised, gesturing wildly at the beast in the enclosure which was currently blinking at him.

Albus nodded confidently. "I see her in the garden with odd creatures all the time," he replied.

"I'll talk to your mother, getting a pet at her age is a big responsibility," he said, hiding his reluctance at the prospect. Albus just nodded, he was more interested in the ferret he wanted to get than his sister's birthday.

The two went home and Harry couldn't shake the chill of the shop. He finally realised that Aragog had a lasting impression on him that he had never shaken off; there was actually one thing that Harry Potter now feared: spiders.

He hoped Ginny would tell him that Lily was a little princess who wanted nothing to do with creepy-crawlies. That would give him an excuse not to buy her a huge hairy spider.

Harry got home and realised Albus was right after all when his daughter ran up to him.

"Daddy, look," the little girl said; holding out a beetle in her small hands. "Can I keep it?" she asked her father eyes wide with wonder.

How was Harry supposed to say no to those eyes? "Harry, you're home, did you find something?" Ginny asked as their daughter disappeared off with her new bug.

"Albus said she likes spiders," he said, shaking his head.

"She loves them," Ginny responded.

"Oh no…" Harry groaned at the answer.

"What's wrong, Harry? You look spooked," she asked, suddenly concerned.

"The incident with Aragog, I thought I was over it, but it seems like I never really dealt with it," he explained slowly.

"Then don't get one if the pressure is too much for the Chosen One," she teased.

"Merlin, Ginny, I'm an Auror, I'm not scared of _spiders_," he said, trying to sound braver than he felt.

"Of course, dear," she responded, walking off, leaving Harry in the lounge to consider his options. It was clear she did not believe he would be able to handle a tarantula.

He had only two options:

1\. He could refuse his daughter because of his own fears or;

2\. He could get over his fear and buy her the hairy little beast.

There were many emotions he had never handled properly, and as much as he felt the need to be strong for his family, this was one situation where he could no longer avoid the issue. It needed to be faced head on.

"I'm getting her the spider," Harry said, mostly to himself.

"That's fine, dear," Ginny responded skeptically from the kitchen.

Ginny always felt she was the strong one in this relationship; although she didn't mind letting Harry pretend to be.

So, Harry went back to the shop, armed with Albus's pocket money for an albino ferret, and a mission. He eyed the hairy spider before walking over to pick up the reserved ferret for Albus. Then he walked back over to the creature, watching as the tarantula swallowed a whole fly which made Harry shudder.

"I need that one as well," he said to the saleslady with a gesture at the enclosure. If this was what his daughter wanted, she would get it. He would do this for his daughter.

He braced himself when she handed him the spider, although he had already been placed into the container that was going home with him. She could see his reluctance at handling the spider, even in the container, but that was his business. A sale was a sale; after all.

The Potter household was celebrating. It was Lily's eighth birthday and all her cousins were visiting. The cake was decorated in purple with eight small candles in the centre. The décor was also mostly purple, and there was a small table that was holding all the little girls' gifts from her family, all except one. Granny Molly had helped with all the décor and she even baked the cake herself. It was clear Ginny wasn't skilled in baking, and she was all too happy for the help.

The guests crowded around the birthday girl, singing "Happy Birthday, Lily" in an off-beat chorus. She was standing by the eight burning candles, listening to her family complete the song before bursting into cheers. She closed her eyes, blowing out all her candles in a single breath, and making a wish before opening them again.

When she looked up, she saw her father holding a great big spider with a purple bow in his bare hands.

"Happy birthday, princess," Harry said to Lily. Lily squealed in delight and everyone heard a _thud!_ as Uncle Ron hit the floor, passed out. All the children laughed, but the parent's knew the trauma that Ron and Harry had gone through. It was clear that the children would never understand, but Harry and Ron wanted the best for their children, so they didn't let them in on half of the things that happened during their school years.

Looking at this happy child, Harry knew it was worth facing this strange beast, and felt stronger because of this.

"What's his name?" Ginny asked her daughter.

"I'll call him Fluffy," the little girl announced; making the adults all stifle a snigger.

"That's a great name, Lily," Aunt Hermione said reassuringly as the girl looked curious at the sniggers from her parents and Uncle Ron.

"I once knew a three-headed-dog named Fluffy," she continued, her comment sounded like the beginning of a joke that one needed to be there to understand.


End file.
